All competitions · Open call / exhibition
Royal Ulster Academy 145th Annual Exhibition 2026 - Open Submission
Royal Ulster Academy of Arts · Belfast, United Kingdom
Annual open-submission exhibition at the Ulster Museum, Belfast. Artists aged 18+ of any nationality may submit up to three works in most visual art media; multiple prizes across disciplines.
Your eligibility
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Who can enter
- Location
- Open worldwide
- Age
- 18 and over
- Career stage
- Any
- Mediums
- Painting, Drawing, Printmaking, Sculpture, Photography, Textile & fibre, Ceramics & glass, Digital art
- Work made
- Within the last 2 years
- Size limits
- Maximum 2 metres in any one direction
- Submission
- Online submission
- Also
- Open internationally to artists aged 18+; work created 2024-2026; not previously exhibited in Northern Ireland; max 3 works; min price £200.
About
The Royal Ulster Academy of Arts (RUA) holds its Annual Exhibition at the Ulster Museum, Belfast, and welcomes submissions from emerging and established artists regardless of nationality or country of residence. Eligible media include painting, drawing, print, sculpture, photography, textiles, ceramics and craft, with limited accommodation for digital and multimedia work. Works must have been created between 2024 and 2026, not previously exhibited in Northern Ireland, and measure no more than 2 metres in any direction.
For the 145th edition, submissions ran from 10 March to midnight on 14 July 2026 through the online OESS system. Fees are £20 for one work, £35 for two or £50 for three. Stage-one (digital) selection was notified on 22 July and stage-two (physical) on 21 August 2026; the exhibition runs 18 October 2026 to 3 January 2027. Prizes include the Irish News Open Submission Prize, a £1,000 Portrait Prize and the £2,000 Leonora Millar Award, plus discipline awards. Selected works carry a 30% commission and a £200 minimum price.